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Sheffield Wednesday's ongoing struggles represent a a "serious issue" and the independent regulator is seeking powers to examine team situations in such situations, its new chair David Kogan has announced.

Through a comprehensive talk, Kogan, who was named to the position this week, expressed "sympathy" towards supporters of the Owls.

The regulator engaged with four supporter groups associated with the Championship side this week.

The team have been experiencing difficulties in multiple areas in 2025, with the club failing to pay players on time on five separate occasions, including in the autumn.

"Clearly Sheffield Wednesday has been a serious issue for football authorities and a substantial concern for English football," the chairman stated.

"Sheffield Wednesday is one of the great brands for football in England and recently we have met fan representatives.

"We are seeking authority... which will allow us to have Wednesday and comparable cases referred to us if they need to be investigated and addressed."

Economic Challenges and Ownership Situation

The team's struggling chairman the current owner stated during the off-season he would be willing to sell up at Hillsborough, but he has not been able to secure a deal with prospective buyers.

Failure to pay player wages on time in spring months resulted in restrictions being imposed by the English Football League (EFL) in summer, blocking the team from conducting any transfers or loans for the next three transfer windows, although that restriction was lifted in late summer.

Regulator's Perspective

Kogan said: "Our role exists to serve the supporters of Wednesday, Bury or any football club where fans are dedicated to a regional establishment that has existed throughout their lifetimes in multiple situations.

"I have absolute sympathy for the team's plight, as I do for each organization that since 1992 have gone to the wall, or been close to going to the wall, for causes separate from the followers."

When asked if the regulator could force an owner to sell a club if they are judged inappropriate, the chairman responded: "If your question is 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the reply is once we collect the information and understand the situation, we will."

But the chairman emphasized that requiring chairmen to relinquish clubs would be considered the final option and the oversight body would choose to collaborate with owners.

"The last thing what we want to do is commence engagement with an particular organization, an individual owner, without being in a position to cooperate with that owner to try and resolve the issues that the club's facing and the chairman's encountering," the chairman stated.

"In actuality, when you look back over the history of the game, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been some owners, a small minority, but certain individuals who have acted carelessly in the approach they have taken toward their organizations and finally decline to assume obligation for the long-term prospects."

'Mistakes could erase significant advances'

The regulator engaged representatives from 110 clubs to detail the scope of the regulator on Wednesday and stated it constituted a "forward-thinking discussion" with a "high level of engagement" from the lower divisions to the top flight.

"It's a job that's actually really important, because if we get it wrong, if the sport makes errors, the remarkable development accomplished might evaporate rapidly," the chairman stated.

"This represents everyone's worst fear in the context of the English game is a substantial accomplishment - we've got to keep it going.

"There's an enormous amount of money coming into football and has been invested for the recent generations, because certainty is lacking it will keep flowing into the sport, which is among the factors explaining I think we have to adopt a precise perspective on challenges and obviously, of the immediate future."

Top Flight Apprehensions

Top flight officials resisted the formation of an authority because of fears of a negative impact on the top-flight's competitiveness, but the chairman responded: "I fully support the success and growth as an financial organization of the Premier League.

"As someone who appreciates the apprehension regarding damaging the Premier League as a premium product of England. But simultaneously, if you consult with top flight officials after this week's discussion, they would have had a high level of reassurance -and, indeed, they have been telling us in private they have a considerable comfort."

Political Connections

The chairman continues to confront a "full inquiry" by the official appointments authority after he disclosed making donations to the Labour Party in the past.

The 68-year-old provided financial support for Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport the minister's leadership bid, along with that of the now Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

"I've been completely open about my previous political affiliation [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the parliamentary committee confirmed my selection," Kogan said.

"I currently have no participation in any form of political activity."